SNYDERSVILLE — A corrections officer at the county jail in charge of the cell block where an inmate committed suicide was not making his required rounds, a security camera showed.

According to multiple sources with ties to the Monroe County Correctional Facility, corrections officer Jesse Cleare is suspected of failing to make his appointed rounds and possibly making false entries in a log book of his activities. Cleare was suspended by the prison board without pay pending an investigation.

Investigators are looking into the suicide of Mumun "Marty" Barbaros on March 22. The cameras show that Cleare didn't make required periodic rounds of the cell block in the wee hours of the morning Barbaros died, multiple sources said.

"From what I hear, it's not looking too good for him," one person with ties to the prison said of Cleare's prospects of getting his job back. "You don't see him doing any tours. I don't think he walked around much if at all."

This despite the fact that Barbaros was placed in a cell next to that of another inmate who was on a suicide watch, according to one official. This meant that Cleare, on duty early that Sunday morning, was expected to pass Barbaros' cell once every 15 minutes to check on the neighboring inmate. Barbaros was not on a suicide watch.

Barbaros, a Canadensis restaurant owner charged with conspiring with an employee to burglarize and vandalize a competitor's pizzerias, was found unconscious in his cell at 6:05 a.m. that Sunday. Efforts to revive him were unsuccessful.

One camera was pointed the entire night at Barbaros' solid metal cell door, sources said. Though the camera is unable to see into the cell, it recorded all movements outside the cell. It also captured images of a PrimeCare Medical nurse trying unsuccessfully to revive Barbaros once he was found unconscious and the door was opened.

PrimeCare has contracted with the county since 1993 to provide medical services to inmates at the Snydersville prison.

Pennsylvania State Police, the coroner's office, the Monroe County Prison Board, a district attorney's office detective assigned to the prison, and PrimeCare all are investigating aspects of Barbaros' death.

The results are expected to shed light not only on what happened at the jail March 22, but set the stage for determining if anyone could have stopped him. And if so, whether anyone was negligent in the performance of his or her job.

Preliminary indications are that Barbaros — who complained to a judge less than two days before his death that he hadn't received his regular dose of a powerful antidepressant drug — deliberately choked himself by stuffing shreds of his water-soaked T-shirt down his throat.

Barbaros said he had been taking Paxil to combat the effects of anxiety, but hadn't received the drug since being placed in jail Wednesday, March 18. District Judge John Whitesell instructed the police officer who escorted Barbaros to the March 20 hearing to relay the inmate's concerns to prison medical staff.

"I do know when he came in, the person transporting him mentioned he wasn't getting his meds," one jail employee said on condition of anonymity. "That was passed on to medical."

Paxil is used in treating depression, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder and post-traumatic stress. The manufacturer warns against abrupt discontinuation of the drug, and for close supervision of any dosage change.

Some medical professionals warn that Paxil withdrawal could increase suicidal thoughts, and bring on physical flulike symptoms such as nausea, imbalance or insomnia.

Several sources confirmed Barbaros was seen following the Friday court hearing by a jail "medical professional" — either a staff psychologist or psychiatrist. Only a psychiatrist — who is a medical doctor — is legally authorized to prescribe medication.

PrimeCare employs a doctor, psychiatrist and psychologist, who each typically visit the correctional facility once a week. A physician's assistant usually is in the prison twice a week.

Barbaros apparently never received Paxil during the four days of his jail confinement. Several people say Barbaros wasn't considered at risk of hurting himself so he wasn't placed on a "suicide watch" of stepped-up monitoring.

Todd Haskins, a PrimeCare vice president, says the Harrisburg-based medical contractor routinely screens new inmates for suicidal tendencies as part of its intake process.

"We have a pretty strict suicide prevention policy," Haskins said. He said personnel employ the "New York model," a protocol of about a dozen questions, to ascertain an inmate's degree of risk.

The intake process for any new inmate, usually performed by nurses who staff the prison 24 hours a day, includes gathering a full medical background, he added.

"We ask a series of medical questions ."Š."Š. and we look at their general appearance and whether they appear to be in distress of any kind," Haskins said. "Typically the inmate self-reports the medications (he or she is taking) and whatever problems they have."

It isn't clear whether Barbaros told PrimeCare employees of his Paxil use during the initial intake. An employee of Barbaros' said he regularly took Paxil during the workday at his restaurant.

After the mental evaluation of Barbaros following his Friday court appearance, it was decided not to place him on a suicide watch. Barbaros was housed in a cell in the prison's segregation unit.

The unit is reserved for inmates who are in protective custody from other inmates, considered potential discipline problems, or whose behavior might be otherwise classified as erratic.